Lunch: Chickpea, Barley, and Feta Salad

Recipe by Dawn Perry Barley has nice heft and chew, but don'’t feel limited–use cooked farro, quinoa, or brown rice if you prefer.

This recipe includes fertility superfoods such as:

Barley, Sunflower Seeds, Lemon

Health and fertility benefits of Chickpea, Barley, and Feta Salad

Barley is about the best grain a woman with PCOS can eat. It is low in calories and has the lowest GI of all grains. Low-GI grains such as barley take much longer to digest and create a slow, steady rise in blood glucose and insulin levels. As mentioned before on Fertility Chef, low-GI foods reduce cravings. If possible, try and find hulled barley as it is the most nutrient dense of all types of barley. Sunflower seeds are an excellent food for PCOS as they are packed with vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). Just one cup of sunflower seeds provides 30% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin B6. Sunflower seeds are also loaded with two other important of PCOS busting minerals: zinc and magnesium. Lemons can help to prevent oxidative damage to the body, which women with PCOS are often susceptible to.

Ingredients

8 ounces green beans, halved crosswise
Kosher salt
1 cup pearled, hulled, or hull-less barley
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
4 ounces feta, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Toasted Spice Vinaigrette

Instructions

Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using a sieve or a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl of ice water.
Return water to a boil, add barley, and simmer until tender (refer to packaging for timing); drain. Let cool on a baking sheet.
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook sunflower seeds, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes; let cool.
Toss green beans, barley, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, feta, dill, lemon juice, and vinaigrette in a large bowl.

Add a review for Chickpea, Barley, and Feta Salad